The Belfast Telegraph is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been “favoured by the Protestant population”,[1] while also being read within Catholic nationalist communities in Northern Ireland.[2][3][4]
It was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird. Its first edition cost half a penny and ran to four pages covering the Franco-Prussian War and local news.
The evening edition of the newspaper was originally called the “Sixth Late”, and “Sixth Late Tele” was a familiar cry made by vendors in Belfast City Centre in the past.
Its competitors are The News Letter and The Irish News but local editions of London-based red tops also compete in this market, selling at a cheaper price than the “Tele”.
The Belfast Telegraph was entirely broadsheet until 19 February 2005, when the Saturday morning edition was introduced and all Saturday editions were converted to compact.[5] The weekday morning compact edition was launched on 22 March 2005.[6]
In 2015, the Telegraph launched the magazine supplement Family Life.[7]
The paper now publishes two editions daily, Belfast Telegraph final edition and the North West Telegraph which is distributed in Derry.
Circulation has declined in recent years, from 109,571 for the period July to December 2002,[8] to 36,403 for the same period in 2017,[9] and 33,951 by the end of 2018.[10] This had declined to 32,538 by the first half of 2019. [11] Circulation further declined to 31,340 for the period July to December 2019. [12]
Editor Gail Walker reportedly resigned in January 2020.[13]
